No, we shouldn’t pay MPs more

THEY’RE whining again. They’re very important people doncha know, these Members of Parliament. And as they’re very important people they should be paid lots more of our money:

Seven in 10 MPs said they were underpaid on £65,738 a year, according to a survey by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa). On average, MPs said they deserved salaries of £86,250 — a 32 per cent rise.

No, sorry, but no. The pay for a job is not a matter of “fairness”. It is a matter of supply and demand. The more people there are willing to and capable of doing a job then the lower the pay that goes with that job.

This is as true of banking, wiping bottoms and serving pints as it is of being an MP. By definition, anyone who can get elected is qualified to be an MP. Thousands try to get elected at every General Election. We thus have no shortage at all of those capable and willing to do the job.

Thus there should be no pay rise: we just don’t need to increase the incentives for people to do the job.

We can actually go further than this too. That the curent set of MPs seems not to understand this basic truth about a market economy means that they’re too damn dim to get a pay rise anyway.

I can’t remember the last time I had a pay rise. Before my employer of 21 years went into administration, all staff were either taking pay cuts or reduced hours over the last few years to try to keep things running. I took less pay for the next job, then that company also closed. I’ve taken another pay cut for the job I currently have and haven’t a clue how long it will last.
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I’m not the only person I know in this sort of situation and I’ve never seen things as bad as they are now, so how dare those money-grabbing, lazy bastards think they deserve more!

Bimmerman

In total agreement. Although I wouldn’t use banking as an example of supply and demand justifying high renumeration. Working in the city/banking is not rocket science (the skills sets are not complex and one clearly doesn’t need to get it right to advance) and it should attract lower pay. German bankers are paid less than their US or UK counterparts and still perform as well.

I wonder how well a financial institute – which paid below industry rates – would perform if it were staffed by bright, motivated people currently on low/no wages?